Apparatus for manually raising and lowering bulky packages

ABSTRACT

A package raising and lowering apparatus comprising: a canvas bag of suitable capacity large enough to receive a bulky package such as a plastic garbage container; a lid removably secured over the mouth of the canvas bag; and a cable removably secured at one end to the lid and having handgrips along its length to facilitate the raising and lowering of the bag in an apartment between ground and lst or 2nd floors. This apparatus facilitates the transportation of heavy things of a bulky nature back and forth between the ground floor of an apartment and the 2nd and 3rd floors thereof. Thus, it facilitates the lowering of a heavy or bulky bag of garbage by an apartment dweller from the 2nd or 3rd floor on which he lives to the ground floor where the bag can be more readily carried to a disposal area. An attachment to the mouth of the bag is provided to take the place of the lid and to enable the lid and cable to be enclosed in the bag so that the assembly can be safely washed in a washer without damaging the washer during the process.

United States Patent [191 Bennett [451 Mar. 11, 1975 Julia A. S.Bennett, 315 Wall St., 7 Apt. N0. 3, Jeffersonville, Ind. 47130 [22]Filed: Dec. 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 428,188

[76] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Robert SaiferAttorney, Agent, or FirmArthur F. Robert [57] ABSTRACT A package raisingand lowering apparatus comprising: a canvas bag of suitable capacitylarge enough to receive a bulky package such as a plastic garbagecontainer; a lid removably secured over the mouth of the canvas bag; anda cable removably secured at one end to the lid and having handgripsalong its length to facilitate the raising and lowering of the bag in anapartment between ground and lst or 2nd floors. This apparatusfacilitates the transportation of heavy things of a bulky nature backand forth between the ground floor of an apartment and the 2nd and 3rdfloors thereof. Thus, it facilitates the lowering of a heavy or bulkybag of garbage by an apartment dweller from the 2nd or 3rd floor onwhich he lives to the ground floor where the bag can be more readilycarried to a disposal area. An attachment to the mouth of the bag isprovided to take the place of the lid and to enable the lid and cable tobe enclosed in the bag so that the assembly can be safely washed in awasher without damaging the washer during the process.

2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEUHARI 1 I975 sum 1 a; 2

FIG.IA

APPARATUS FOR MANUALLY RAISING AND LOWERING BULKY PACKAGES BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION 1. Field Of The Invention This invention relates to theart of transporting heavy and/or bulky packages to and from the groundfloor of a multi-level walk-up apartment house.

2. Description Of The Prior Art Many apartment houses, having 2nd and3rd floors, are walk-up affairs, which do not have motorized apparatusfor lifting and lowering heavy or bulky or otherwise burdensome packagesback and forth between the ground floor and the 2nd and 3rd floors. Sofar as I know, in such walk-up apartment houses, it is necessary for the2nd and 3rd floor occupants individually to perform the difficult andoften frustrating task of carrying these burdensome packages from onefloor to another. This is very objectionable particularly to olderpeople.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Objects Of The Invention The principal objectof this invention is to provide a manually operated apparatus whichfacilitates the raising and lowering of burdensome packages between theground floor and the 2nd and 3rd floors of apartment houses.

Another object is to provide a simply and inexpensively constructedapparatus which is easy to operate and which substantially facilitatesthe raising and lowering of heavy bulky packages between the floors ofwalk-up apartments.

Statement Of The Invention The objects of my invention are achieved byproviding a main bag large enough to hold a plastic garbage container,for example; a lid for covering said main bag when the garbage containermust be moved to the ground floor; means for detachably securing saidlid to said main bag; and cables securable to said lid and provided withhandgrips along its length to facilitate the lowering or raising of themain bag.

With this arrangement, the loaded main bag and its lid can be thrusteither through a window or over a bannister and lowered in step-by-stepfashion to the ground floor where it is a simple matter to open the bag,remove the contents of the main bag and manually transport the same tothe disposal area and then raise the bag back up to the floor from whichit came. This eliminates the work of carrying a heavy bulky package downone or more flights of stairs, which can be very burdensome to olderpeople.

When it becomes desirable to launder the apparatus, the lid and cablewith their respective metal connections can be placed in the bag, themouth end of the bag provided with an open-ended cloth cylinder, thelower end of which is secured to the bag exterior by a plastic zipperconnection located slightly below the mouth, and the upper end of thecloth cylinder closed by a draw string or otherwise. Now the entireassembly can be laundered in a washing machine without subjecting theinterior of that machine to damage from contact with the metal partsenclosed in the bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS- The preferred embodiment isillustrated in the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows the assembled parts in elevation with the lid being shown,solely for the sake of clarity, as a flat-topped construction; FIG. 1Ais a plan view of a strap for anchoring the FIG. 1 assembly to abannister;

FIG. IA is a plan'viewof a strap for anchoring the FIG. 1 assembly to abannister;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section corresponding to one taken along line 2-2of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the lid as it appears when flattened out;

FIG. 4 shows the bag with a special closure for use in laundering thebag and lid with all metal parts contained within the bag; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the special closure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment shownin the drawings comprises: a bag; a lid; lid-securing means; aloweringraising cable; and a special closure.

The bag I, which can be of any suitable shape and size, is preferablycomposed of cloth. A cloth mesh is satisfactory particularly where thebag 1 is not to be used as a container for parts having metalattachments, such as metal fasteners, which container is to be launderedin a machine, such as an automatic washer. Where it is to be or may beso used, canvas or some other strong sturdy cloth is preferred.

To facilitate concrete discussion, the bag 1 will be referred to as acanvas bag. While it should normally have sufficient strength withoutreinforcement, it is shown as reinforced by horizontallyspaced verticalbands 2 of canvas, which cross under the bottom of the bag, andvertically-spaced horizontal or annular bands 3. All bands may be sewnor riveted to the bag.

The lid may likewise be constructed of any suitable material preferablya sturdy cloth. Thus the lid shown comprises nothing more than a seriesof four equallyspaced diametric straps 5 crossing each other at thecenter of the lid. The lid straps 5 are sewn or riveted to each other. Astrap handle 6 is secured to the lid 5 at its center.

Any suitable means may be used for detachably securing the lid to thebag. The means shown comprises: a closed metal ring 8 at each end ofeach vertical reinforcing band 2 of the bag 1; and a metal snap fastener9 permanently secured to the free end of each lid strap 5 and detachablysecurable to a ring 8, the snap fastener 9 shown being conventionallyconstructed to include a short metal rod terminating in an open rigidloop at its free end and a rod-mounted spring-actuated latch normallyclosing the open loop.

The lowering-raising (LR) cable may be composed of any suitablematerial, including rope. The LR cable shown comprises an elongatecanvas strap 12 provided, at spaced intervals along its length, withsecurely mounted loops of canvas forming handgrips 13 by which the LRcable 12 may be manually hauled in or paid out in step-by-step fashion.The lower end of the cable 12 is secured to lid handle 6 by a closedmetal ring 15 secured to the lid handle, and a metal snap fastener l7permanently secured to the lower end of the LR cable 12 and detachablysecurable to ring 15, the fastener 17 shown being identical to fastener9.

The upper end of the LR cable may be anchored to a bannister, forexample, by looping a short strap 19 around the bannister and connectingthe upper end of the LR cable 12 to the bannister strap 19 by suitablefastening means comprising: a pair of rings 21, one at each end of thebannister strap 19; and a fastener 22, identical to fastener 17,permanently secured to the upper end of the LR cable 12 and detachablysecurable to bannister rings 21.

In use, the bag 1 may be hung upon a 2nd or 3rd floor kitchen wall, forexample, and provided with an inner preferably disposable bag 25, suchas a plastic garbage bag, which is detachably secured to the inner wallof bag 1 by an annular series of spaced preferably detachable fasteners26 hung on the inner wall of bag 1 near its mouth. When the disposablegarbage bag 25 is suitably filled, the lid 5, LR cable 12 and bannisterstrap 19 are detachably secured and anchored. Now the closed bag 1 canbe lowered to the ground floor where the garbage bag 25 is removed and(it or-its contents) disposed of in the normal way. Finally, the bag 1is hauled up to the appropriate floor and returned to the kitchen toaccumulate the next load. Bulky packages can be lowered or raised in asimilar manner. In each case, manual cartage of a burdensome load eitherup or down one or two floors is eliminated.

With use over one time period or another, the assembly may requirelaundering. To facilitate laundering of all parts in an automaticwasher, the lid, LR cable and bannister straps, with their respectivemetal parts, may be placed within the bag 1 and the latter provided withthe special closure shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This special closurecomprises: an open-ended cylinder 28 preferably composed of cloth; azipper 29 (preferably plastic) having one part mounted on the outer sideof the bag 1, below its metal rings 8, and its other part mounted on thelower end of cylinder 28 so that cylinder 28 may be secured to the bag 1by connecting the parts together through Zipper 29; and means, such asdraw string 30, for closing the upper end of the special closurecylinder 28. Now the bag can be placed within an 4 automatic washer andlaundered without any serious danger of the metal parts (of the bag, thecap, the lid, the cable or the bannister strap) striking the interiorwalls of the washer sufficiently to damage them.

A draw string may be used at the location of the zipper 29 to eliminatethe zipper and special cylinder 28. In this event, the bags mouth endportion above zipper part 29 on bag 1 is turned into the interior of thebag before or during the act of closing the bag. The draw strings ineach case provide a means for closing the bag with washables, includingthe lid, within the bag for laundering purposes.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An apparatus for manually raising and lowering bulky or otherwiseburdensome packages between the floors of an apartment, dwelling or likebuilding, comprising: I

A. a bag having a mouth at its upper end and a capacity large enough toreceive a manually-handable package;

B. a lid removably securable over the mouth of the 1. said lid having acentral section and a series of straps secured to said section andarranged to extend'from the periphery of said section for bag supportingpurposes and terminating in free ends, which are detachably securable tothe mouth end portion of said bag,

a. said central section being relatively stiff in comparison to saidstraps;

C. an elongate cable having a lid end;

D. means for securing said cable to said lid with the lid end of thecable located over said central section of the lid; and

E. handgrips mounted on the cable along its length to facilitate theraising and lowering of the bag in step-by-step fashion when the bag,lid and cable are secured together. 4

2. The apparatus of claim 1 including:

A. means, other than said lid, for closing the bag after washables, areplaced within the bag for laundering purposes.

1. An apparatus for manually raising and lowering bulky or otherwiseburdensome packages between the floors of an apartment, dwelling or likebuilding, comprising: A. a bag having a mouth at its upper end and acapacity large enough to receive a manually-handable package; B. a lidremovably securable over the mouth of the bag,
 1. said lid having acentral section and a series of straps secured to said section andarranged to extend from the periphery of said section for bag supportingpurposes and terminating in free ends, which are detachably securable tothe mouth end portion of said bag, a. said central section beingrelatively stiff in comparison to said straps; C. an elongate cablehaving a lid end; D. means for securing said cable to said lid with thelid end of the cable located over said central section of the lid; andE. handgrips mounted on the cable along its length to facilitate theraising and lowering of the bag in step-by-step fashion when the bag,lid and cable are secured together.
 1. An apparatus for manually raisingand lowering bulky or otherwise burdensome packages between the floorsof an apartment, dwelling or like building, comprising: A. a bag havinga mouth at its upper end and a capacity large enough to receive amanually-handable package; B. a lid removably securable over the mouthof the bag,
 1. said lid having a central section and a series of strapssecured to said section and arranged to extend from the periphery ofsaid section for bag supporting purposes and terminating in free ends,which are detachably securable to the mouth end portion of said bag, a.said central section being relatively stiff in comparison to saidstraps; C. an elongate cable having a lid end; D. means for securingsaid cable to said lid with the lid end of the cable located over saidcentral section of the lid; and E. handgrips mounted on the cable alongits length to facilitate the raising and lowering of the bag instep-by-step fashion when the bag, lid and cable are secured together.